European Colonization Of Africa Analysis

Chinua Achebe said, “When the British came to Ibo land, for instance, at the beginning of the 20th century, and defeated the men in pitched battles in different places, and set up their administrators, the men surrendered. And it was the women who led the first revolt.” With the rise of industrialization, Europe experienced major problems such as poverty and homelessness. This led to an increase in colonization as people sought economic opportunities (Iweriebor, “The Colonization of Africa”). The nineteenth century was a period of profound revolutionary changes in the political geography of Africa, characterized by the demise of old African kingdoms and empires and their reconfiguration into different political entities (Iweriebor, “The Colonization

An imperialist government may want to acquire a territory to gain additional sources of inextensive labor and raw materials. By the 1800’s, there were intense rivalries among the European nations as they skated claims to parts of Africa. This race to expand European colonial influence is often referred to by historians as the “Scramble for Africa.” An imperialist government may want to acquire a territory to gain additional sources of inextensive labor and raw materials (Vontz, “Imperialism”).Industrialized nations can produce more manufactured goods than their people need or can afford to buy (Vontz, “Imperialism”). Motives for the colonization of Africa were that European interest in Africa began growing from the 1400’s as European nations acquired the military and technological capacities for overseas voyages and conquests (Klemm,

In the past, a quality education was only attainable by the rich and powerful within these states. Recently, we have seen higher education attainability rates throughout the post colonial-world (Mann, “Post Colonial Development in Africa”). Post-colonialism is defined between nations and areas they colonized and ruled (Mann, “Post Colonial Development in Africa”). In 1957, the Gold Coast gained independence and became Ghana. In Kenya, there was a revolt which led to decolonization in 1963. By mid 1960, most Eastern and Western Africa was freed. Finally, Guinea Bissau gained independence in 1974 (Klemm, “Africa”). European colonization of Africa exacted a heavy cost in African lives. Millions were killed directly in wars of conquest and indirectly through the demands imposed upon them in colonial plantations (Klemm,